Cozy review: Robbery at the Roller Derby

 

Title: Robbery at the Roller Derby (Mollie McGhie #0)
Author: Ellen Jacobson
Publication Info: independently published
Source: Give-away

Publisher's Blurb:

When Mollie joined a roller derby team, she thought she only needed to worry about bumps and bruises. But when something valuable is stolen from the locker room, she decides to investigate and find the culprit.

In between identifying suspects, working at a mind-numbing temp job, and skating practice, she also meets a guy who just might change her view on blind dates.

As Mollie pursues her investigation, not everyone is thrilled when she starts asking one too many questions.

Can Mollie skate her way out of danger? Or will her nosiness be the death of her?

Robbery at the Roller Derby is a prequel novella to the Mollie McGhie Cozy Sailing Mysteries, a whimsical series with a nautical twist. 

 


My Review:  
This is another book from an author I probably shouldn't be reviewing, as I have beta-read several of her books before this (not this one). Nonetheless, this is my honest opinion about a fun little story: that it *is* a fun little story. There's nothing earth-shaking about Mollie's origin story, but there's also no question that it's as goofy and off-beat as she is. I mean, really: roller derby? For someone who has proven herself (in Books 1-4) to be a wee bit klutzy? What could possibly go wrong, besides... everything?

The story rockets along like Mollie on the skate track, and takes the reader along, laughing all the way as Mollie struggles to find her way in life, as well as to find the thief.


My Recommendation:
I think this would be a fun read even if you don't already know Mollie and the crew from the marina. If you do, you are probably going to love finding out how she met her husband, and why she knows about bolt cutters.


FTC Disclosure: I collected a copy of Robbery at the Roller Derby on a free day, and received nothing further from the writer or publisher for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Guest Post today! Author Ronel Janse van Vuuren

Today, while I'm busy with visiting my family, Young Adult author Ronel Janse van Vuuren has come by to offer some thoughts on the special pleasures of the novella. Ronel is the author of Once... Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie; Dark Desires, The Fae Realm, and more, including her latest release, Magic at Midnight.

Power of Novellas

When you ask someone how they are, the standard answer has become: “I’ve been incredibly busy!”
“Busy”. That seems to be what we all are at any given moment. Work, children, relationships, hobbies, exercise – we are kept quite busy. Unexpected things happen and we have to somehow fit it into our busy lives.

There are ways to be less busy, of course. Hiring someone to do your laundry/clean your house/cook your meals/take care of your garden/chauffeur the children/pick up your dry cleaning/answer your emails: the list is endless on how you can outsource the stuff that eats up you time. Freeing you to do more work. To be more “busy”.

But we need to take some time for ourselves. We need to set boundaries. Maybe it’s that hour before bed, or waiting in line/at the doctor’s office, taking a break in the afternoon, or that hour in the morning before anyone else wakes up.

How do we fill that hour just for ourselves? We escape into another world: we read.

Regular length novels, read at a pace of an hour a day, can take a week to get through, leaving the reader in constant anticipation – or worse – adding unnecessary stress.

But a novella can be read in two hours. It offers an escape and a proper conclusion. In other words: a fulfilling read.

That’s why shorter reads are becoming more and more popular on online stores. Novellas can come in ebook, audiobook and paperback. They can come in series, standalone or standalone-in-series. They come in any genre and for any age group (well, those that have long novels).

Novellas fill the void, help those with “no time to read” and brings back the delicious escape that only stories can bring.

“Magic at Midnight” is one of these powerful novellas. Magic, intrigue, conspiracies, romance – what more do you need? There are pegasi, princesses and whispers of war. And did I mention that you can read it in two hours?

Even if you can only find five minutes for yourself a day, you can fill it with reading pleasure. And you can still look “busy” if you really want to.

About the author:
Award-winning author Ronel Janse van Vuuren mainly writes for teens and tweens, though she is known to write mythology-filled short stories for anthologies aimed at older readers. Her dark fantasy works, usually full of folklore, can be viewed on her website and on Goodreads.

Ronel can be found tweeting about writing and other things that interest her, arguing with her characters, researching folklore for her newest story or playing with her Rottweilers when she’s not actually writing.

All of her books are available for purchase from major online retailers.

Sign up to be notified of new releases, giveaways and pre-release specials – plus get a free eBook – when you join Ronel’s newsletter. 

Connect with Ronel online:
Twitter
Pinterest
Goodreads
Instagram
Amazon author page
Ronel the Mythmaker, Website of Dark Fantasy Author Ronel Janse van Vuuren

Title: Magic at Midnight
Author: Ronel Janse van Vuuren
Publication Info: May, 2019. 98 pages

Publisher's Blurb:
Amy has only known one life. Now she needs to put it all on the line to save what is precious to her. Can this simple farm girl survive court life? Can she stop a war from burning down her world? And what of the mysterious princess of Hazel Wood and her covert glances…? Not to mention the prince of Acacia Wood who might or might not be involved with the prophecies ruling their kingdoms. With mysteries and secrets threatening the life she longs to return to, can she separate her feelings from the mission?

Mystery Monday: Out of Options review

Note: I shared a Spotlight for this novella during the Great Escapes blog tour, but thought it best to wait on my review, as I would probably not give this the requisite 3 stars, if I gave star, which I don't :D

Title: Out of Options (Century Cottage Mysteries prequel novella)
Author: Dianne Ascroft
Publication Info: April 2019, 126 pages. Contains novella and bonus short story "City Sunsets."
Source: Great Escapes Blog Tours

Publisher's Blurb:
Out of Options is a prequel novella to the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series, and introduces Lois Stone and her companions, Raggs and Ribbons, a pair of perceptive calico cats.

A dry district, a shocking secret, a missing person. When Lois Stone’s friend, Beth Darrow, arranges to meet her to reveal an astonishing discovery, Lois’s curiosity is piqued. Then Beth doesn’t keep their lunch date and Lois becomes worried. What has happened to her friend?

Middle-aged widow Lois is settling into life on her own in her neighbourhood and in the library where she works, and she is just about coping with her fear of strangers after her husband was mugged and died in the park at the end of their street. But her quiet existence is rocked when her friend and fellow local historical society researcher, Beth, arranges to meet her to reveal an exciting and shocking discovery she has made about the history of prohibition in West Toronto Junction, the last dry area in Toronto, and then goes missing before she can share her secret with Lois. There isn’t any proof that Beth is missing so the police won’t actively search for her. Only Lois and Beth’s niece Amy are convinced that Beth’s disappearance is very out of character, and they are worried about her. Where has Beth gone? Is she in danger? And, if she is, who might want to harm her and why? Lois knows she must find the answers to these questions fast if she wants to help and protect her friend.

And so begins a weekend of skulking in the park, apple and cinnamon pancakes, familiar faces staring out of old newspapers, calico cats, shadows on the windowpane, and more than one person who might want Beth to disappear from the quiet, leafy streets of the historic and staunchly dry West Toronto Junction neighbourhood.

A tale for fans of Cindy Bell, Leighann Dobbs, Dianne Harman and Kathi Daley.
 

My Review:
The novella, Out of Options, comes with a bonus short story ("City Sunsets"), and between the two of them, they provide the background for the Century Cottage series, explaining why Lois moves to a small town. I enjoyed the clearly evoked sense of place in the descriptions of Toronto, though I understand why Lois wants to leave. The author's interest in history also sets a positive note.

The short story ("City Sunsets") isn't intended to be a mystery, and is a well-put-together story fleshing out some of what we already learned from the novella. Out of Options, however, is a mystery and demonstrates the challenges of writing mysteries in the short form. The problem is well designed and we have both an appropriate sense of urgency and a good reason why the police aren't solving the problem (which, come to think of it, is an advantage of having a mystery without a murder--less need for the police). The snag is that I found the answer a bit obvious, and felt like the main character had to willfully ignore obvious clues to avoid a too-easy solution to the crime. Nor was the motive wholly creditable.

Despite that negative, and a couple of inconsistencies (Lois has been depicted as enjoying her walks to and from work, but in the final chapter she talks about how unsafe she feels in the city since her husband was killed, how she is unable even to go certain places), the book is an engaging read, and will answer a lot of questions for readers of A Timeless Celebration. The writing was generally sound, and as noted, the author does a good job of evoking the setting.

My Recommendation:
I'll give this a "maybe" recommendation for a summer read. I'm not sure if it's the best way into the series, or if it's better to read A Timeless Celebration and approach this one when you want to know more of Lois's history. 

FTC Disclosure: I received an ARC of Out of Options from Great Escapes Free Book Tours, and received nothing further from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Cozy Spotlight: Out of Options

Cozy novella spotlight!

Out of Options: A Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries by Dianne Ascroft

About the Book

 

Out of Options: A Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries  

Cozy Mystery Prequel Novella  

Independently Published (April 28, 2019) 

Paperback: 126 pages 

ISBN-10: 1096163373  

ISBN-13: 978-1096163374 D

igital ASIN: B07R4GQWQN

 

Out of Options is a prequel novella to the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series, and introduces Lois Stone and her companions, Raggs and Ribbons, a pair of perceptive calico cats.

A dry district, a shocking secret, a missing person. When Lois Stone’s friend, Beth Darrow, arranges to meet her to reveal an astonishing discovery, Lois’s curiosity is piqued. Then Beth doesn’t keep their lunch date and Lois becomes worried. What has happened to her friend?

Middle-aged widow Lois is settling into life on her own in her neighbourhood and in the library where she works, and she is just about coping with her fear of strangers after her husband was mugged and died in the park at the end of their street. But her quiet existence is rocked when her friend and fellow local historical society researcher, Beth, arranges to meet her to reveal an exciting and shocking discovery she has made about the history of prohibition in West Toronto Junction, the last dry area in Toronto, and then goes missing before she can share her secret with Lois. There isn’t any proof that Beth is missing so the police won’t actively search for her. Only Lois and Beth’s niece Amy are convinced that Beth’s disappearance is very out of character, and they are worried about her. Where has Beth gone? Is she in danger? And, if she is, who might want to harm her and why? Lois knows she must find the answers to these questions fast if she wants to help and protect her friend.

And so begins a weekend of skulking in the park, apple and cinnamon pancakes, familiar faces staring out of old newspapers, calico cats, shadows on the windowpane, and more than one person who might want Beth to disappear from the quiet, leafy streets of the historic and staunchly dry West Toronto Junction neighbourhood.

About the Author

Dianne Ascroft is a Torontonian who has settled in rural Northern Ireland. She and her husband live on a small farm with an assortment of strong-willed animals. She is currently writing the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series. Out of Options is a prequel to the series.

Her previous fiction works include The Yankee Years series of novels and short reads, set in Northern Ireland during the Second World War; An Unbidden Visitor (a tale inspired by Fermanagh’s famous Coonian ghost); Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves: A Collection of Short Stories (contemporary tales), and an historical novel, Hitler and Mars Bars, which explores Operation Shamrock, a little known Irish Red Cross humanitarian endeavour.

Dianne writes both fiction and non-fiction. Her articles and short stories have been printed in Canadian and Irish magazines and newspapers. When she’s not writing, she enjoys walks in the countryside, evenings in front of her open fireplace and folk and traditional music.

Author Links

Website: http://http://www.dianneascroft.com  
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DianneAscroftwriter  
Twitter: @DianneAscroft
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1357575.Dianne_Ascroft  
Newsletter Sign up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/y1k5c3  

Purchase Links:  

Amazon 
Barnes and Noble   
Kobo

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

TOUR PARTICIPANTS 

July 8 – I’m All About Books – GUEST POST
July 9 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 10 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
July 10 – The Ninja Librarian – SPOTLIGHT
July 11 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 12 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
July 12 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 13 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
July 14 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW
July 15 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW
July 15 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST
July 16 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW
July 17 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 17 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
July 19 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW
July 19 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 20 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
July 21 – Literary Gold – REVIEW

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!